-->"I think I might be the voice of my generation. Or at least ''a'' voice of ''a'' generation."

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/girlstropes_6098.png]][[caption-width-right:300:[[WaxingLyrical So many girls in here, where do I begin?]]]]

''Girls'' is an {{Creator/HBO}} dramedy about the exploits of four young women living in [[BigApplesauce New York City]]. To most, this concept sounds [[SexAndTheCity very familiar]], but the result is decidedly less glamorous (and probably a bit more realistic) than the ''other'' FourGirlEnsemble that previously aired on the channel.

Co-produced (with Creator/JuddApatow), written by, and starring Lena Dunham, the show follows the lives of four young women transitioning into full-blown adulthood. The [[TitleDrop girls]] are:* '''Hannah Horvath''' (Lena Dunham), TheLeader of the group and a recent college graduate who, after being cut off by her parents, is fired from her interning job after demanding full-time employment from her boss. * '''Marnie Michaels''' (Allison Williams), Hannah's best friend and art gallery assistant. A bit of an IceQueen, she's in a long-term relationship with a loving boyfriend, but finds herself bored with him. * '''Jessa Johansson''' (Jemima Kirke), a [[TheDrifter drifting]], [[GranolaGirl Bohemian]] Brit who returns to New York after a bit of travelling around. She has a reputation for being unpredictable and flaky. * '''Shoshanna Shapiro''' (Zosia Mamet), Jessa's American cousin. An excitable [[TheIngenue ingenue]], Shoshanna is extremely insecure about being a virgin.

The show's tone is difficult to encapsulate, engendering a LoveItOrHateIt response from a number of people. It relies on CringeComedy and tongue-in-cheek humor, portraying its characters as lost and flawed--{{Designated Hero}}es, in short, who may be lovable but not necessarily likable. Critics, however, have come down pretty strongly on the "Love It" side; the show's won a number of "Best Comedy" and "Best Performance" Golden Globes and Emmys, as well as a "Best Comedy Director" for Dunham from the Directors' Guild of America--the first time a woman has ever won it.

----!!This show provides examples of:* AlliterativeName: The four girls all have them.* BadassBoast: Booth Jonathan delivers one when hitting on Marnie, informing her that he's going to have sex with her at some point and might scare her when he does, because "I'm a man, and I know how to do things". [[spoiler:Subverted, because though they do hook up eventually, it turns out he's not nearly the SexGod he implies he is.]]* TheBeard: Maybe. Hannah dated Elijah for two years in college, but it's not clear whether he was knowingly using her to hide his sexuality or still figuring it out himself at the time.* BestYearsOfYourLife: One of the key things about the show is how it deliberately subverts the [[TurnOfTheMillennium recently popularized]] notion that early-mid 20's are this. Lena Dunham directly mentions this in one of her episode commentaries on the Season One DVD set. Hannah's parents (especially her mother) appear to hold this view in The Pilot. This is later shown to be not the case, as throughout the series, they prove to be surprisingly in tune to what she's going through.* BeachEpisode: "Beach House," appropriately enough.* BingeMontage: The opening to "Role-Play". RealityEnsues when Hannah throws up all over herself and one of her work friends has to take her home and clean her up.* BrokenAesop: After being involved in a semi-adulterous situation, Jessa is told "You're doing it to distract yourself from becoming the person you're supposed to be." Jessa plunges into commitment by [[spoiler: marrying Thomas-John, a guy she's barely known and who had one cameo on the show until their wedding. Because nothing says committed like a Vegas style wedding.]]* ButWeUsedACondom: Hannah: "But what about the stuff that gets up around the ''sides'' of condoms?"* CaliforniaDoubling: A rare example of ''New York'' doubling for something else. One of the more suburban areas around the city (Mamaroneck, in Westchester County) was used as a stand-in for East Lansing, Michigan, in "The Return". The production staff tried to cover it up with the profuse use of Michigan State paraphernalia.** Averted in a regional way with the scene at the beginning of "Video Games". The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou_(Metro-North_station) Manitou Metro-North station]] is almost 50 miles up the Hudson River from the city. Most shows produced in the city rarely go that far away within the metropolitan area for such a short scene and would try to fake it somewhere else; here they went to the actual station and made it rather obvious that they did.* CallingTheOldManOut: When Jessa visits her dad in "Video Games."* CerebusSyndrome: The show's gotten significantly darker and more dramatic in the 2nd season* ChubbyChaser: Hannah accuses her co-worker, Joe, of behaving this way in the midst of her [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech scathing speech]] to her co-workers and boss at GQ and then quits.---> '''Hannah:''' Joe, what do you want from me? Does it, like, make you feel good to have a chubby girl paying attention to you? I am not the right conquest---> '''Joe:''' [[FlatWhat What?]]* ConvenientMiscarriage: An inversion; [[spoiler:Jessa has her period on the day of a scheduled abortion.]]* CoolestClubEver: The warehouse rave in "Welcome to Bushwick."* CringeComedy: Marnie's singing in "On All Fours." She doesn't have an awful voice, but the song choice coupled with the awkward dancing makes the whole thing both hilarious and hard to watch.** A good portion of the sex scenes fall here, since one or both participants will find a way to make it ''extremely'' awkward.* ADateWithRosiePalms: Frequently, both male and female.** Hell, the second episode of the fifth season shows Adam and Jessa doing it ''individually'' on opposite ends of a sofa.* DiscriminateAndSwitch: When Hannah goes by [[ItMakesSenseInContext to pick up her father's wallet from a guy he met online]] and the man claimed nothing sexual happened, Hannah says "Well, I can't trust you people" and states she doesn't mean gay men but white men over 50.* DudeNotFunny: InUniverse, Hannah gets this reaction after [[WhatAnIdiot making a joke implying that the guy conducting her job interview is a date rapist]]. Needless to say, she isn't hired.* EitherOrTitle: "Welcome to Bushwick, aka the Crackcident."* EverybodyHasLotsOfSex: Though mostly not ''[[IdealizedSex good]]'' sex.* {{Expy}}: The Girls easily have their own ''SexAndTheCity'' counterparts, all while acting as [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructions]]; Hannah (Carrie), Marnie (Miranda), Jessa (Samantha), and Shoshanna (Charlotte). [[WrongGenreSavvy Hilariously]], Shoshanna views herself as being mostly Carrie but with ''Samantha'' elements.* FanDisservice: This show has [=LOTS=] of sex scenes. Most of them, far from being titillating, are squirm-inducingly awkward, and/or hilarious.* FourGirlEnsemble: See above. * FourTemperamentEnsemble: Jessa (Sanguine), Hannah (Choleric), Marnie (Melancholic), Shoshanna (Phlegmatic). * FourthDateMarriage: [[spoiler: Jessa and Thomas-John the venture capitalist, in the first season finale. A definite deconstruction, since it doesn't end well.]]* FriendsWithBenefits: Hannah and Adam have this type of arrangement at the beginning of the first season. Possibly a deconstruction as their relationship later gets complicated.* FriendsRentControl: Hannah's and Marnie's apartment, which is in the most expensive part (India Street) of Greenpoint, would rent for about $1,500 to $1,800 per month. Marnie is forced to pay the full rent after Hannah loses her parental funding. While paying half would be possible, it's way too much of a stretch for Marnie to pay the full amount given that her art gallery job would pay no more than $30,000 per year and she gets only limited family support.* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Jessa's and Marnie's surprising makeout session in Episode 8.* GodivaHair: A topless Marnie, in the Season Two premiere.* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Jessa, inadvertently, after finding out she's pregnant. Out of anxiety, Jessa purposely avoids making it to the clinic where she is scheduled to have one done, [[spoiler:but it soon turns out that she's actually not pregnant when she gets her period at a bar]]. * HeadbuttingHeroes[=/=]VitriolicBestBuds: Marnie and Jessa. It's not completely clear whether they are actually friends or not. In Episode 8 it's made clear that up until then they had a mutual friend in Hannah but really weren't friends with each other. However, their friendship develops - REALLY develops - in this episode. --> '''Marnie:''' See, this is what you do. You act like I'm uptight, and then, I follow suit. I ''become'' uptight. It's the most frustrating dynamic on the planet. It drives me crazy!* HeartbreakAndIceCream: When Hannah's boyfriend breaks up with her, she goes to her apartment and hits the fridge, taking out a pack of ice-cream.* HeelRealization: Subverted. AlphaBitch Marnie can't see her own faults. At the end of season 1, Marnie tells Hannah she's the bad friend -- even though Marnie was equally culpable in the breakdown of Marnie and Hannah's friendship. * {{Hipster}}s: Hannah and her friends fall somewhere between being these and {{Bourgeois Bohemian}}s.* IdealizedSex: ''So averted''.* IncompatibleOrientation: Hannah and Elijah, which is something Hannah discovers ''after'' their relationship. * IntoxicationEnsues: "The crackcident" in "Welcome to Bushwick" -- Shoshanna smokes what she thinks is pot, but turns out to be crack. She freaks out and runs away, forcing Ray to chase after her, which just freaks her out even more.* ImportantHaircut: Hannah cuts off her hair on-screen after she breaks up.* InstantHumiliationJustAddYoutube: Marnie's "What I Am" music video. ''Oof.''* {{Jerkass}}: All of the characters have plenty of this.* LargeHam: Ray is usually a DeadpanSnarker, except when he has to chase down a high Shoshanna.-->'''Ray:''' Shoshanna! Come back! I'm your crack spirit guide! STOP!* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The whole point of Sandy in Season 2 was to address the criticism of the show's lack of diversity. This is particularly evident when he admits to not liking a piece of Hannah's writing by saying "It wasn't for me."* LesbianJock: Discussed and averted in ''Females Only'' when "fat gay Laura" tells Jessa she hates it when people assume that because she's a lesbian, she likes sports and she really dislikes playing them.* LookBothWays: Adam in the season 1 finale, in a non-fatal example. Episode 8, as well.* MenDontCry: Averted in episode "Boys" when Ray is depressed, having spent a day trying to return a dog to its owner, having an argument with Adam and generally feeling like a giant loser. He just loses it, [[FacePalm covers his face]] and cries.* ModestyBedsheet: On a couple of occasions Marnie has been clothed in situations that in real life would have involved nudity. Shoshanna too, though it could be argued that her summer camp friend was in too much of a hurry to have removed her bra. A modesty bedsheet makes a literal appearance when [[spoiler: Shoshanna loses her virginity]] in the season 1 finale.* MonochromeCasting: One of the major complaints about the show. It's set in Brooklyn, albeit in a largely white part, which makes this fairly striking. This was addressed by Lena Dunham, who apologized for the show's whiteness in several interviews. Perhaps to offset this criticism, [[Music/ChildishGambino Donald Glover]] was cast in a recurring role in season 2.* MoodWhiplash: It's mostly a comedy, but there are lots of awkward and uncomfortable moments mixed in, as well as some straight drama, and often times they follow comic scenes rather suddenly.** Especially notable in "Welcome to Bushwick", which starts out as one of the straightest comedy episodes in the series... before Jeff gets beaten up, Marnie gets chewed out by Elijah and Hannah gets in an argument with Adam.* NeverTrustATrailer: Judd Apatow and the people he works with have always dealt with this, and ''Girls'' is no exception. Hannah's "I think I may be the voice of my generation" line was heavily pushed by HBO's marketing department when the series premiered. However, in its corresponding episode, the line (and, thus, that entire notion) is immediately ''subverted''. Specifically, [[spoiler: Hannah says it while high on opium. And she immediately retracts it once she realizes, through the dirty looks her parents give her in response, how stupid it sounds.]] Lena Dunham herself has openly stated that ''Girls'' is not at all a Generation Y manifesto but simply a look at the trials and tribulations of four specific twenty-something year old women trying to make it big in NYC. The show's surprisingly broad fanbase (encompassing everybody from 18 year old girls to 55 year old men) speaks for itself.* NoBisexuals: Discussed with Elijah [[spoiler: when he has sex with Marnie.]]* NobodyPoops: Averted.* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. Marnie and Hannah swap stories about the regularity (Marnie) and irregularity (Hannah) of theirs, [[spoiler: and then there's Jessa's very convenient one.]]* OneWordTitle: ''Girls''* PercussiveTherapy: Booth breaks at least two bottles of vintage wine in a cellar when he has an argument with Marnie in "Boys".* PottyEmergency: Hannah's urinary tract infection, when coupled with the lack of a restroom at a remote train station, leads to an embarrassing situation.* TheQuietGame: Adam asks Hannah to play this because of her awkward chatter while they're having sex.* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: These are delivered to various characters with surprising frequency (or perhaps not so surprising, given the note under '{{Jerkass}}').** Hannah gives one to Charlie in "It's a Shame About Ray"-->'''Charlie''': ''(about Marnie)'' She's a cunt.-->'''Hannah''': You're a jerk.-->'''Charlie''': What?-->'''Hannah''': You know the kind of year that she's had, okay, first you guys break up, then her dad loses his job, then she loses her job, then she has sex with a gay man, and then she has to come over here and deal with your needs and your whining, I'm sorry, you're a fucking jerk!-->'''Charlie''': [[CompletelyMissingThePoint ...what gay man?]]** From the same episode, Jessa to Thomas-John:-->'''Jessa''': I know what you are.-->'''Thomas-John''': Oh do you?-->'''Jessa''': You're just some scared guy who didn't get laid until they were sixteen. No one liked you in high school, and no one likes you now. I'm embarrassed when we walk down the street because you're so fucking average. I tell my friends you were born a test-tube baby, just so you have a little edge. ** And then in "Together," Hanna calls Jessa out for bailing on all their friends when she doesn't answer her phone.-->"Oh, hello. YOU FUCKER! Where did you go? And who am I supposed to talk to if you won't answer your fucking phone? That anorexic Marnie? Fucking Shoshanna? My stalker ex-boyfriend? It's not like any of them want to talk to me! I don't blame them because I cut off all my FUCKING HAIR! And now you're off somewhere, just living it up, wearing a crop-top. You probably got your vagina pierced. And you're not answering your phone. And you're forgetting about everyone who's fucking it up here! SO I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GREAT TIME! LOVE YOU!** Hanna delivers an epic one to Marnie at the end of "Bad Friend."** Adam's sister delivers one to Hannah about her and Adam-->'''Caroline''': You and my brother deserve one another, you know that? [[ItsAllAboutMe You selfish little pricks!]] And you will never write a thing that matters because you will never understand the true struggles of humanity because you just slipped right out of your motherís pussy like a nice little golden egg, [[PrecisionFStrike you spoiled little fuckin brat]].** [[BewareTheNiceOnes Shoshanna, of all people,]] puts all ''three'' of the others in their place in "The Beach House."** Adam delivers one to Jessa in "Female Author" after her flippant response to getting them both arrested after refusing a citation for public urination, calling her out for her toxic and self-involved behavior and refusal to stop acting like a reckless addict despite being sober.** Ray gives one to Desi in "Home Birth" about the way he treats Marnie. -->'''Ray''': Desi, this isn't about where you're from. This isn't about geography. This is about that distressed shirt you're wearing. This is about the fact that you have eyeliner on your face right now. This is about the fact that your musical sensibility is insufferable. Don't ever think that you get onstage anywhere where a vast majority of the crowd doesn't think "douche. You know how you feel when you watch Imagine Dragons play? Well, that's how we feel about you... I also know that you absolutely do not deserve her. Even remotely. You string her along for months and now you've proposed to her in some desperate bid to make it seem like you're not the most selfish person in the western fucking hemisphere, but you know what, Desi? I'm onto you.* RelationshipUpgrade: Hannah and Adam in the first season. It doesn't last long though. However, they later get together and they remain together.* RoommateCom: Four women in their early-to-mid-twenties live in New York City. Their life is depicted a bit more realistically, as their apartments are less glamorous than usual in fiction, they happen to have shitty jobs, they have to rely on their parents' income and have almost no money.* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Shoshanna's a virgin, and very insecure about being such, so this is bound to come up. [[spoiler: In the finale of season one, she finally loses her virginity to Ray.]]* SexWithTheEx: Jessa hooks up with an ex-boyfriend at one point, and [[spoiler: Marnie and Charlie]] consider it when both are forced to attend a wedding dateless but decide against it.* ShesGotLegs: For the promotional photos for the first season, the main girls show off a lot of leg....* ShirtlessScene: Adam has these ''very'' frequently, to the point that Hannah lampshades this in one episode.--> '''Hannah''': I don't think I've ever seen him with a shirt on...* ShoutOut: There are several to SexAndTheCity.** Jessa's blue shoes at her wedding.* SoOkayItsAverage: InUniverse the girls' artistic talents are portrayed this way. ** Hannah's writing varies between quite good and quite pretentious, but never takes a definitive swing in one direction. ** Marnie is a decent singer, but not even closely as good as she thinks. The folksy indie pop music she makes with Desi doesn't make one's ears bleed, but neither is it interesting whatsoever. [[invoked]]* SpiritualSuccessor: As a FourGirlEnsemble dramedy set in New York that airs on HBO, it's naturally one to SexAndTheCity. [[ShoutOut Shoshanna even has a poster of the SATC movie in her apartment, and designates Jessa as a Carrie/Samantha.]]* StylisticSuck: The delightfully corny music video to Marnie's cover of Edie Brickell's "What I Am", which to her disdain found its way to Youtube.* SuperOCD: Hannah has had obsessive-compulsive disorder since her teens, and suffers a major relapse as a result of her breakup with Adam and her nervousness over her e-book deal.* AThreesomeIsHot: Thomas-John tries to persuade Marnie and Jessa into this.* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: While all of the characters have their sympathetic moments, all four leads and ''especially'' Hannah often veer into comically inappropriate narcissistic behavior.* WhamLine: Jessa's employer in the middle of a [[spoiler: MercyKilling]]:--> [[spoiler: Call 911, I don't wanna die!]]* WorldOfSnark: Hannah, Jessa, Ray, and Adam live in this world the most -- but really the entire cast slides into it.* XMeetsY: ''{{Sex and the City}}'' meets ''Series/{{Freaks and Geeks}}''.* YouHaveToHaveJews: Shoshanna, Adam and Elijah due to surnames (Shapiro, Sackler and Krantz). Also...Shoshanna, by virtue of being called Shoshanna. {{Word of God}} states that the four main girls are "[[http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls two Jews and two WASPs]]", but it's not clear who the other is. (As for the actors, Lena Dunham, Zosia Mamet, and Jemima Kirke all have a Jewish parent.)----